NYC'er spends time in W.VA and Ohio and is shocked....

[sar]

I just spent a week in West Virginia (with family) and while most of it was great - seeing people buying guns at a Cabelas grand opening in Wheeling - I was very distressed. More than once I saw cars with NRA stickers AND Kerry stickers. I talked with one guy who had a lifetime NRA sticker and Laborers for Kerry Sticker and he said Kerry was for the unions and Kerry would get them jobs - end of story.

The one thing I did notice - if you went to church every sunday you voted for Bush. Non church goers were Kerry supporters.

Are we not getting the facts out to people on Kerry?

Oh, well. Back to looking out my window at protesters.....

 

[2nd Amendment]

Yep. Sure. I'm kinda curious, with increased taxes and increased enviromental restrictions and increased federal meddling in insurance and safety and nosing into small-business as Kerry wants exactly WHERE is Kerry going to "get" these jobs? Hell, for that matter why is it that union members still fall for this crap that the Democrats. who support the lining of the pockets of union bosses in exchange for votes, actually support unions or wage earners?

 

[NC Shooter]

>Yep. Sure. I'm kinda curious, with increased taxes and increased enviromental restrictions and increased federal meddling in insurance and safety and nosing into small-business as Kerry wants exactly WHERE is Kerry going to "get" these jobs? Hell, for that matter why is it that union members still fall for this crap that the Democrats. who support the lining of the pockets of union bosses in exchange for votes, actually support unions or wage earners?<


If this guy was involved in coal mining (which a lot of W. Va is) he is delusional to think Kerry is going to help him keep his job. Kerry wants to shut down coal burning power plants and start burning gas instead.

Get ready for the upcoming power crisis...

 

[444]

WV has been at the top, or near the top of the list with the highest unemployment in the US for years.
I wish you could check back with him in four years to see what kind of jobs he got.
The Wheeling area and the northern panhandle of WV used to be thriving steel mill towns. Now you can't buy a job.

 

[Stickjockey]

...he said Kerry was for the unions and Kerry would get them jobs - end of story.

The question I've yet to see answered, although I may have just missed it:

HOW?

 

[444]

I am a union member.
The die hard union guys I work with tell me that Kerry is pro-union and pro-labor.
My answer to that: Did you make more this year than last year ? Yes
Did you make more last year than you did the year before ? Yes

So what exactly would Kerry have done that that is better than that ?

Ok, now that we got that out of the way, how much input do you think Kerry (The President of the United States) has on our contract (collective bargining agreement) ? You think that management gives the President a call before they answer our demands ?
None ? That's what I thought.

 

[Atticus]

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
...he said Kerry was for the unions and Kerry would get them jobs - end of story.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The question I've yet to see answered, although I may have just missed it:

HOW?"



By using our money to create bigger government....that's how. He and VP candidate "Mr. Smiley" just won't say that until after the election.

 

[444]

What percentage of people employed in the state of WV hold some kind of government job or are hired by a government contractor ?

 

[glocksman]

You're not the only one was shocked when travelling.

When I was in Carroll County, Maryland last year for a month on union business, I was shocked to see so many cars with Bush and Erlich bumper stickers.
My impression of Maryland before that was of Chief Moose and of being the home of big government liberals.

It was especially shocking since these were cars at the plant and belonged to the union members we were coming to help out.

Of course, some of the people I talked to were shocked when I let it slip that I could legally carry a gun back home, and didn't believe me until I pulled out my Indiana LTCH.

 

[ssr]

Well, not sure what he would do in the US, but he wants to give more rebuilding of Iraq jobs to the French and Germans, rather than US companies.

 

[telewinz]

Life long area resident

Now you can't buy a job.

Sad but very true. For the past 30 years WV in general and the Wheeling area as a whole has been going down the tubes. Many of these people are desperate, neither Bush nor Kerry can or will help but hope springs eternal. It's sad to have a 55 year old man deliver your pizza to you. Where I live the average family makes $20,000 a year! Yet the northern and eastern panhandles are much better off than central or southern WV. Recently an out of state church organization visited the Wheeling area donating food and such, hundreds stood in line to accept the food. Yea, things sure have changed in the last 30 years.

 

[sar]

I have been going to Wheeling for about 12 years now (my wife is from there) and it has amazed me how this town survived once Wheeling/Pit steel shut down. The area missed the entire tech boom and thank god the county government got Cabelas in there and now there is talk of Walmart building a distribution center across from the Cabelas.

Yet people still blame the president for job loss when the state has been a democratic strong hold for decades.

 

[Langenator]

What percentage of people employed in the state of WV hold some kind of government job or are hired by a government contractor ?

Quite a few, thanks to Senator Robert 'KKK' Byrd.

 

[griz]

Party politics are a strange thing. People end up believing that all members of “their†party think alike and people on the “other side†are either stupid or evil. No offence intended but this board tends to feed some of that myopic viewpoint. Remember that lots of Democrats are also voting for what they perceive as the lesser of two evils.

Brace yourself, but there are Republicans who support gun control too.

 

[griz]

Just in case my post is misinterpeted, I don't favor gun control. We're not that schizophrenic, yet.

 

[Atticus]

Sadly, many if not most hunters don't see any connection between laws regulating so called assault weapons, high caps, and/or whatever ain't a 12 gauge or '06. I know many. "Whut the hail is that? You wanna be a SWAT cop or sumpin?" Arrggg!

BTW- How is the new Cabelas- been thinking about a road trip to check it out.

 

[Spot77]

When I was in Carroll County, Maryland last year for a month on union business, I was shocked to see so many cars with Bush and Erlich bumper stickers.

Ah my friend....you have bought into what the television chooses to let you see.

The screaming liberals are located primarily in Baltimore City, Prince Georges, and Montgomery Counties. What they want, they get.

The other 20 some counties don't seem to matter to anybody in Annapolis.


Most people here, even Democrats seem to like Mr. Ehrlich....

 

[telewinz]

Quite a few, thanks to Senator Robert 'KKK' Byrd.

Walmart is the #1 employer in WV followed by a couple of hospitals Federal jobs (Clarksburg) don't even make the top 10 and may not even make the top 20.

 

[sar]

Atticus-

The new Cabelas in Wheeling is great - my wife said she never saw my light up like it did when we walked in.

The gun room there was worth the trip for this country boy stuck in NYC.

I got lucky my week there was unplanned and I got to meet Chuck Yeager (he was book signing there) and be in Wheeling when Pres. Bush was there.

If you go to check it don't eat there, I can recommend a local Italian place.

 

[LAR-15]

Wheeling sucks.

I was born there.

My family had to leave.

 

[444]

telewinz, can you provide a link to that information ?
If possible, I would be interested in knowing how many Wal-Marts there are in the state.

 

[Atticus]

sar- I know what you mean. I've been to the one up in ...uh.. that state north of here. Awesome place. I love good Italian...what's the name?

 

[telewinz]

From the WV Bureau of Employment Programs

The 100 Largest Employers in West Virginia
March 2004

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rank Company Name
1 Wal-Mart Associates, Inc.
2 West Virginia University Hospitals/United Health System (United Hospital Center and WV University Hospitals)
3 Charleston Area Medical Center, Inc.
4 Kroger
5 CSX
6 Weirton Steel Corporation
7 American Electric Power
8 E I DuPont De Nemours & Company
9 Verizon
10 Allegheny Energy Service Corporation
11 Consolidation Coal Company
12 St. Mary's Hospital
13 Pilgrim's Pride Corporation of West Virginia
14 Wheeling Hospital, Inc.
15 Eldercare Resources Corporation
16 Rite Aid of West Virginia, Inc.
17 Community Alternatives West Virginia
18 Lowe's Home Centers, Inc.
19 Cabell Huntington Hospital, Inc.
20 Bob Evans Farms, Inc.
21 Camden-Clark Memorial Hospital
22 CDG Management, LLC (Automated Payroll Service)
23 BB&T Corporation
24 Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
25 Mountaineer Park, Inc.
26 K Mart Corporation
27 West Virginia University Medical Corporation (University Health Associates)
28 Herbert J. Thomas Memorial Hospital Association
29 Mentor Management, Inc.
30 Telespectrum Worldwide, Inc.
31 Eastern Associated Coal Corporation
32 Acordia National, Inc.
33 Teletech Customer Care Management (West Virginia), Inc.
34 PNGI Charles Town Gaming, Ltd.
35 Sears, Roebuck and Company
36 Dow (Union Carbide Corporation)
37 The Monongalia General Hospital
38 American Woodmark Corporation
39 Snowshoe Mountain, Inc. (Wildcat Provisions)
40 Weirton Medical Center
41 Hospital Corporation of America, Inc. (Raleigh General Hospital Division)
42 Wesbanco Bank, Inc.
43 Pechiney Rolled Products, LLC
44 Simonton Building Products, Inc.
45 Employee Resource Group, LLC
46 Quad/Graphics, Inc.
47 Dominion Transmission, Inc.
48 Go-Mart, Inc.
49 Columbia Gas Transmission
50 Bluefield Regional Medical Center, Inc.
51 Heartland Employment Services, Inc.
52 J C Penney Company, Inc.
53 City Hospital, Inc.
54 Toyota Motor Manufacturing, West Virginia, Inc.
55 United Parcel Service Inc. (WV District)
56 Personnel Management Company
57 DOLGENCORP, Inc. (Dollar General Stores)
58 Gabriel Brothers, Inc.
59 Restaurant Management Group of West Virginia
60 The Homer Laughlin China Company
61 United National Bank
62 Shoney's, Inc.
63 Special Metals (Huntington Alloys Corporation)
64 Cracker Barrel Old Country Store
65 Ohio Valley Medical Center, Inc.
66 Columbia Parkersburg Healthcare System (St. Joseph's Hospital)
67 Mountain State Blue Cross and Blue Shield
68 Food Lion, LLC
69 Bayer Cropscience
70 ATK Tactical Systems Company
71 Bruce Hardwood Flooring, LLC
72 Asplundh Tree Expert Company
72 McDonald's Restaurants of West Virginia, Inc.
74 GC Services Limited Partnership
75 Appalachian Regional Healthcare
76 Mayflower Vehicle Systems, Inc.
77 Ticketmaster, LLC
78 Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corporation
79 Advance Stores Company, Inc.
80 University Physicians and Surgeons
81 Charleston Hospital, Inc. (Saint Francis Hospital)
81 Rehabilitation Hospital Corporation of America
83 City National Bank of Charleston
83 Sunhealth Specialty Services, Inc.
85 Pleasant Valley Hospital, Inc.
86 Prestera Center for Mental Health Services
87 Logan General Hospital, LLC
88 Bayer Polymers LLC
89 Wendy's International, Inc.
90 Global Contact Services, LLC
91 PPG Industries, Inc.
92 GMRI, Inc.
93 Applied Card Systems Inc.
94 OS Restaurant Services, Inc.
95 Kelly Services, Inc.
96 Midland Food Services
97 Century Aluminum of West Virginia
98 Winans Sanitary Supply Company, Inc.
99 Wheeling Downs Racing Association, Inc.
100 Mountaineer Coal Development

 

[444]

I still wonder what percentage of people that are employed in West Virginia are employed by the government or by a government contractor. That list doesn't show that. That only breaks down people employed by the private sector.

 

[submin]

I think the list is incorrect. Last year, non-union company A.T. Massey was listed as the largest coal employeer. No mention in this list.

I wouldn't worry too much about the umwa. I know many who vote oppisite the unions pick. They're divided.